Self Deception. I have tried to always take you to the foot of the Cross for only there can you find forgiveness of sin and eternal life in heaven.

Transcription

1 Self Deception Where you aware that the entrance to Hell will be from the Portal of Heaven? We can look at this statement at the end of the message because it will give everyone reading this, as it has me; pause for thought. One of the most painful things you can do is tell the truth. We live in a world whose moral underpinnings are on the edge of disappearing forever. When you speak the truth; it becomes difficult for people to hear, and difficult for people to tolerate and easy for people to shoot the messenger. I have been sharing my thoughts for a long time. In the beginning the topics were about God, Jesus, who they are and about the Bible and why it is TRUE and how to defend your faith. The messages were generally upbeat about life here on planet earth. I have tried to creatively weave together in each message something of the three worlds relevant to us; the world around us, the world within us and the world to come. I have tried to always take you to the foot of the Cross for only there can you find forgiveness of sin and eternal life in heaven. You need to realize that; we are redeemed for something far beyond our time, our space, our history, and ourselves. And that within us are planted the beginning seeds of the world to come, the indwelling King, and our commitment to the values and expressions of eternity. (Joseph Stowell Eternity) If we are not careful we can forget that we live in a fallen place in the midst of a fallen race. And loose sight of the FACT that all life was to be seen in the light of the world to come. But today the vast majority of pulpits are silent in regards to telling the Truth. They do not want to alienate anyone by preaching the True Gospel. For if they did very few people would be in their congregations. Now you are thinking here I go dissing the current Seeker church movement. I really am not. I am more concerned with you having the assurance of your Salvation and that you are not self-deceived.

2 Before I add my own thoughts lets begin with Gods by looking at His Word. There are three sets of Scripture that clearly are linked together providing each Christian who claims faith in Christ to pause and read this last road sign carefully. This sign appears at the end of our earthly road as we stand before an elevator to take us up to the throne room of God Himself. The sign simply asks you to consider the question Are YOU Self Deceived? the question requires self examination to make sure you are not self deceived before entering the elevator door. Initially the ride will be up, but bear in mind that elevators go two ways and you may be taking it back down if you are self-deceived. The question is whether you are a TRUE BELIEVER who cannot loose their salvation. If you are convinced that you are a true believer and you really are not and therefore self deceived then you are heading for a fall; because you never were a TRUE BELIEVER. Matthew 7:21-23 is perhaps the most profound and frightening words ever spoken by Jesus as a warning to professing believers. Matthew 7 vs I Never Knew You 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. You and I are part of a country where 86% of the people claim to be Christian and go to church. Do you think they are all going to heaven? 2 Corinthians 13 vs 5 Final Warnings The Apostle Paul wrote: Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

3 God is speaking through Paul again saying to you Are YOU self deceived? Listen up its not me challenging you its God. People who claim faith will be immersed in church and ministry activities. They attend and possibly teach Bible Studies. They appear to produce spiritual fruit. They look and sound like authentic believers. But exposure to and familiarity with the true gospel doesn t guarantee true conversion. Knowing the facts of the gospel and having it penetrate your heart are two different things. Scripture is clear on the matter: It is possible to have a perfect knowledge of the gospel and the Bible, and still not be saved. What is frightening is that people who are in that situation don t even know it. (John MacArthur CD Saved or Self-Deceived?) This whole topic rubs us the wrong way. I am a good person, I give to charities, I go to church, I serve the community, I What do you see wrong with the latter statement? Is it possible there is a tinge of pride? In case it is not obvious lets go to one more place in Scripture. Isaiah 14: You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." (Quoted from the lips of SATAN). Do you notice the I s. Possibly like satan before us we have the common desire to do everything our way. We want to be god the captain of our own fate. But God has a reminder for us Isaiah 29:15-17 What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their evil deeds in the dark! The Lord can t see us, they say. He doesn t know what s going on! 16 How foolish can you be? He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay! Should the created thing say of the one who made

4 it, He didn t make me? Does a jar ever say, The potter who made me is stupid? Whether we like it or not, you and I are not GOD. He is the POTTER, you and I are the clay. He said to each of us in Psalm 46:10: Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. It will be HIS way not our way. Our sense of Justice and Fair Play has no place before the HOLY God of Creation. So don t let your own pride get in the way of Gods Truth. There is a war raging within you and its being fed by the culture and the many preachers out there who preach a simple gospel that will not save. Today marketing programs are being used by churches to create mega churches. This methodology fills the churches with unbelievers but does not confront them with their sin and their need for a savior. Christ established the format for witnessing 2,000 years ago and has not changed it. We all are sinners on the way to Hell, desperately in need of a Savior. That Savior is Jesus who died on a Cross-to provide a sure path through HIM ALONE to Heaven. You cannot work your way to heaven. Jesus said you must count the cost of your decision. People currently in these churches are not being told to count the cost or that saving faith means they will be given a Cross-of their own to bear in this life. Then there are those that preach in the name of Christ, but speak only of prosperity, love and man s psychology but have NO Biblical Discernment! They lead thousands of people away from Christ. Interview by Mike Wallace of Joel Osteen, December 23, 2008 on Fox News Sunday. Wallace: And what about Mitt Romney? And I ve got to ask you the question, because it is a question whether I should be or not in this campaign, is a Mormon a true Christian? Osteen: Well, in my mind they are. Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his savior, and that s what I believe, so, you

5 know, I m not the one to judge the little details of it. So I believe they are. Wallace: So, for instance, when people start talking about Joseph Smith, the founder of the church, and the golden tablets in upstate New York, and God assumes the shape of a man, do you get hung up in those theological issues? Osteen: I probably don t get hung up in them because I haven t really studied them or thought about them. And you know, I just try to let God be the judge of that. I mean, I don t know. I certainly can t say that I agree with everything that I ve heard about it, but from what I ve heard from Mitt, when he says that Christ is his savior, to me thats a common bond. End Quote from Pulpit Magazine Posted: 23 Jan If you do not understand how wrong Joel Osteen is, then you should take the time to understand why Mormons are not Christian. This is in no way a political or religious statement by me regarding Mitt Romney. It is soul-ly (not misspelled) a statement about Joel Osteen and the fact that he is a wolf in sheep s clothing and is helping people follow himself into the elevator that will go down not up. What is even sadder is that many are rising up in pulpits across our country doing the same thing. Why, because you can get a crowd into church and focus all the glory on yourself and away from the Lord. The FACT is that the ONLY WAY to find HIM is at the end of the Narrow Road, a path you take by yourself; not along the path with all your friends down the wide road with everyone else by your side. So lets go back to the beginning question. Where you aware that the entrance to Hell will be from the Portal of Heaven? Do we really comprehend the fact that we will go up into heaven and stand before the Lord; and from that spot before the Lord in heaven we may be sent to Hell? You will feel great on the ride up; but you may be a candidate for the ride down!

6 This message is serious. It is about you and me. It is about hearing Christ say one of two things to each of us Well done my good and faithful Servant OR I never knew you; depart from me. So take the Apostle Paul s advice Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. if you are there will be evidence of your faith in the life you live daily before the face of God. I have a CD message from Pastor John MacArthur on how to examine yourself according to Gods Word, not according to MacArthur s words. If you would like a copy I will be glad to send you one. God speaks to you and I from Psalm 46:10 when HE Says Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth. Joel Osteen does not speak for GOD, but he does speak for the god of this world satan. But GOD has a special word for Joel Osteen: Jude 1 vs 12 They (Osteen and all like him, past present and future) are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness. Don t follow men like Osteen down the elevator into the blackest darkness ; for you will never see the light again. Ask for the CD it will not harm you, but it will challenge your thought process in relation to the Words of God.

7 Osteen s two Nationally acclaimed (Christian??) Best Selling book titles form a double negative when I add the word not. This is NOT Your Best Life Now. And Mormons are (NOT) Christians Too. Joel Osteen will stand before Jesus and he will say Lord, but LORD, I DID THIS for YOU!...and Jesus will say.i Never Ernie P.S. Food for thought: God for now is leaving the wheat and the tares together. When the Lord spoke about the wheat and the tares being left to grow together for this current age; and then to be separated by the angels during the final harvest of souls yet too come. HE did not mean that the wheat represented the members of the church and the tares represented the people of the world outside the church. He meant self proclaimed Christians, that are the tares among the wheat of True Christians within the Church. If this were not what HE meant then the statement above from Matthew 7:23 would never have been made. The Church is growing not in Faith but in Apostasy. The final judgment will take place in heaven. It will be the separation of believers from non-believers; the sheep from the goats described in Revelation. The sheep will be all believers. The goats will be all nonbelievers including the professing false believers in Christ. For now we worship together, both wheat and tare claiming to be one church with one god how sad that the lack of discernment, the lack of biblical knowledge and misplaced hope will take many down.